Paul Norman Ylvisaker, 1921-1992

Dean, 1972-1982

Paul Norman Ylvisaker was appointed by Harvard President Derek Bok to be dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1972. He also served as the Charles William Eliot Professor of Education. Ylvisaker came to HGSE with a background in urban planning, having worked on national and international urban planning projects for the Ford Foundation’s Public Affairs Program. Before coming to HGSE he had also served as a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Princeton University, Swarthmore College, and Yale University. Ylvisaker was a noted expert in the field of philanthropy.

Ylvisaker helped steer HGSE through a tide of financial difficulties in a period of philosophical transition. Throughout his years as dean, he boosted morale and fostered a strong sense of community. Given Ylvisaker’s unconventional background, it should not have been a surprise that his vision for HGSE pushed the school to encompass a definition of “education broader than schooling.” Ylvisaker’s belief in the importance of lifelong learning for current educational practitioners helped establish the Office of Professional Programs in 1977 and the Principals’ Center in 1981, through which practitioners convene for professional training and contact with HSGE faculty. Dean Ylvisaker also increased opportunities for the study of public policy and education.

Significantly, the Institute for Education Policy Studies was established in 1979 to further policy research at HGSE. International education also became a priority of Ylvisaker’s administration: The Project for Human Potential helped educational policymakers find the means of achieving a full range of development possibilities in a given population, and the Office of International Education was created. Despite reductions in federal and private monies, HGSE continued to strengthen its faculty and student body. During the years of his administration, the School contained the highest concentration of women and minorities of all the Harvard University faculties. In an interview with The Harvard Crimson, upon the announcement of his resignation, Ylvisaker even predicted that the chances for a woman to succeed him as dean would be “fairly high.”

After resigning from the deanship and until his death in 1992, Ylvisaker became a senior consultant to the Council on Foundations and continued teaching at HGSE.

About the Artist: Melvin H. Robbins, American, 1918–1999

The portrait of Dean Paul Norman Ylvisaker was painted by Melvin H. Robbins, a Cambridge-based portrait and courtroom artist. In the painting, Ylvisaker is depicted seated in a wooden arm chair against a neutral-colored background. Born in Boston, Melvin “Mel” Robbins graduated from Boston University in 1939 and the Massachusetts Art School in 1941. During the Second World War he painted murals and portraits as a member of the United States Army Special Services. After the war, Robbins was president and art director of the White Card Company. He retired in 1968 to become a full-time portrait artist.

Robbins painted two of the portraits on display in the Eliot-Lyman Room — the portraits of Deans Ylvisaker and Patricia Albjerg Graham. Additionally, he received portrait commissions from other Harvard University faculties, including the Dental School, Divinity School, Law School, and Medical School. The medium Robbins selected for Harvard University portraiture was oil on canvas. Additionally, his portraits have been commissioned by other educational institutions, local and state governments, and hospitals. These commissions include: Lesley College, University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts State House, Cambridge City Hall, New England Medical Center, and Children’s Hospital.

Robbins worked as a highly acclaimed courtroom artist for local television news programs and newspapers. Phyllis Robbins, his wife, recalled that he did courtroom sketches to get out of his studio and into the “real” world.

Although most of his fellow courtroom artists used pencils, pastels and sketch pads — the typical tools of the trade, Robbins employed canvas and acrylic paint for his work. His work for WBZ-TV was awarded a regional Emmy Award in 1979. University of Massachusetts President Robert Woods was so impressed by his courtroom work that he later commissioned Robbins to paint his own portrait. This led to portrait commissions of other university dignitaries.

Robbins passed away on November 24, 1999 at age eighty-one.